How to Wire Transfer Online

Often you have to transfer money quickly to your distant friends or family, so sending cash or check are not the options. If you are in such situation, your preferred choice should be making an online wire tranfer. With wire transfer, you can send money from your bank account to another bank account directly without involving checks or cash. Some of the companies that offer online wire transfer services include PayPal, Western Union and Xoom. Usually, the money is transferred within 24 hours to the receiving party.

Select a money-transferring company to use to send money. According to money-transfer-guide.com, Western Union, PayPal and Xoom are among the leading money-transferring companies. Western Union has the largest network but is usually more expensive than others. PayPal’s fees are lower but the recipient needs a PayPal account to receive the money. Xoom is flexible and convenient to use, but unfortunately it is not available in all countries. You can compare the charges of each company by visiting the websites in Resources section below. When you open each website, select the country, enter the amount you are sending, and the website will show you the estimated cost for the transaction.

Go to the website of the company that you have decided to use and click on “Sign Up” or “Register Now.”

Complete the form for setting up your account on the website. The form will ask for your name, email address, current city and country, billing address, credit card number or bank account details.

Click “Submit” to create your account.

Go to the homepage after the registration process has been completed. Find and click the button “Send Money Online” or “Send Money.”

Choose the recipient’s country and city. Also, enter his email address along with the amount that you want to transfer. For Western Union and Xoom, you will have to enter the recipient’s bank account number, bank name and the bank routing number.

Confirm that you want to transfer this amount. The amount along with the fee will be deducted from your account and wire transferred to the recipient's bank account.

Tips

  • Western Union and Xoom transfer funds directly to the recipient’s bank account. PayPal, on the other hand, sends an email to the recipient and guides him to create a free account on the website to deposit the money from PayPal account to his bank.

    PayPal doesn’t give you any other option besides transferring money to the bank account of the recipient. However, for Xoom and Western Union, you will have to select “Bank Deposit” as the method of transfer when you enter the recipient’s particulars on the page, such as country and email address.

    Besides bank deposit, Xoom and Western Union also allow you to transfer money from an agent location.